Device for opening and closing doors for garages, &amp;c.



L. F. ALSWORTH.

DEVICE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS FOR GARAGES, &c.

APPLICATION FItED JAN.3.191I- 1,2%5,25 Patented May8,1917.

K" PA 1 J C O l (O- h h "1 LOUIE F. ALSW'ORTI-I, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DEVICE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS FOR GARAGES, 85o.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1917.

Application filed January 3, 1917. Serial No. 140,474.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Loom F. Answonrn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Opening and Closing Doors for Garages, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inven tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the aceompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a. part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices for opening and closing sliding doors, designed especially for garages, etc, and consists of a simple and etiicient mechanism of this nature so arranged that the driver of a machine, having either a right or left drive, may conveniently open the door without leaving the car.

The invention consists further in the provision of various details of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts which will be hereinafter fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

I illustrate my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved door opening device, the door being shown in solid lines closed and in dotted lines open.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the means for locking the lever-actuating member and door in a locked relation.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the showing in Fig. 3.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A. designates a sliding door with hangers B carrying pulleys C movable upon the track E. A metallic throw bar, designated by letter H, is pivotally mounted at its lower end upon a pivot I projecting from the post K, and said bar has a laterally projecting lug O to which. one end of a link L is pivoted, the other end of said link being pivotally connected to a lug N fastened pivotally to the inner end of the lever N. Said lever is mounted upon a pivotal pin It carried by a bracket arm K of said post, and J designates a handle pivotally connected to the outer end of the lever N. A strap T is fastened transversely to said door, preferably above its center, and intermediate said strap and the door are the anti-friction rollers S against which the opposite edges of the throw bar are adapted to contact as said bar is swung in one direction or the other, accordingly as it may be desired to open or close the door.

A spring W is fastened at one end to an eye N on the under side of the lever intermediate its pivotal point and its inner end and the lower end of said spring is fastened to an eye P formed at the upper end of the screw P, which is movable through an eye M mounted upon said post, and a nut P is mounted upon the threaded end of the screw P and is adapted to be adjusted upon the screw to limit the tension of said spring.

The operation of my invention Wlll be readily understood and is as follows:-When the lever is pulled down through the medium of said handle, the throw bar is raised toward a vertical position and, as it comes in contact with the anti-friction roller to the left, the momentum of the swinging bar will cause the door to slide open, the rollers upon said hanger rolling upon the track above. After the throw bar passes a vertical position, the momentum will carry it to the left and it will fall by gravity to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus returning the lever to its normal operative position. The next operation of the lever by tilting the outer end down may cause the door to be closed by the swinging of the throw bar back to its normal position.

It will be understood that in the operation of the lever, as the outer end is tilted down, the spring will be put under tension and cooperates with the gravity movement of the throw bar to return the lever to its normal position.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings, I have shown a means for locking the door closed, consisting of a longitudinally movable sliding bolt X held upon the post Y by means of the straps X, said bolt being hollow and pivotally connected to the outer end of the lever N through the medium of the link G which has a handle G projecting therefrom. The post Y has mortised therein a lock, the tongue of which may be thrown out by a key to engage a lug Y projecting from the hollow surface of said bolt X.

hen the tongue of the lock is thrown out in the path of said lug upon the sliding bolt, it will be noted that the lever, which actuates the door, will be held from tilting upon its pivot and hence the door locked closed.

What I claim to be new is 1. A device for operating sliding doors for garages, etc, comprising, in combination with a sliding door, a pivotal metallic throw bar and post to which the lower end of said bar is pivoted, anti-friction wheels mounted upon said door and spaced apart and between which said throw bar is adapted to have a play, means for confining the bar between said rollers, a tilting lever mounted upon the post and having pivotal link con-- nections with said throw bar, a screw adjustably mounted upon the post, and a coiled spring fastened at one end to said screw and its other end to the inner arm of said lever.

52. A device for operating sliding doors for garages, etc., comprising, in combination with a sliding door, a pivotal metallic throw bar and post to which the lower end of said bar is pivoted, anti-friction wheels mounted upon said door and spaced apart and between which said throw bar is adapted to have a play, means for confining the bar between said rollers, a tilting lever mounted upon the post and having pivotal link connections with said throw bar, a sliding hollow bolt, pivotal link connections between the same and said lever, said bolt having a lug projecting from the inner hollow surface, a lock, the tongue of which is adapted to be thrown in the path of said lever, and

a handle for moving the bolt.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIE F. ALSWORTH. Witnesses B. L. DORCH,

C. E. CARRIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 4 

